World Education Connect Multidisciplinary e-Publication, Vol. VI, Issue V (May 2026), p.54
Stories of Enforcement: Teachers’ Narratives on Challenges and Benefits of English Only Policy
Maurice Jayde A. Ygot, LPT, College Instructor
Southern Masbate Roosevelt College
Abstract
This qualitative narrative inquiry, grounded in the interpretive paradigm, explores how teachers at Southern Masbate Roosevelt College experience enforcing the English Only Policy (EOP) within their school environment. Clandinin and Connelly’s (2000) three-dimensional narrative space—temporality, sociality, and place—served as the guiding framework for examining teachers’ stories. The research team selected 10 educators through purposive sampling (Patton, 2015) and gathered data through semi-structured interviews, reflective journals, and detailed classroom observations. Sample sufficiency was reached when no new themes emerged (Saunders et al., 2018). Triangulation of methods and sources helped strengthen the study’s credibility and trustworthiness.
The findings reveal a complex reality. On one hand, teachers often perceive EOP as enhancing students’ linguistic confidence and academic performance (RQ1–2; Krashen’s Input Hypothesis, 1985). Students, when encouraged to express their thoughts in English, appeared to progress rapidly and practiced language skills they might not have otherwise developed. However, the policy is not without challenges. Teachers identified major obstacles, including communication gaps, heightened student anxiety, and feelings of pedagogical restriction (RQ3–4; Cummins’ BICS/CALP, 1979). Enforcement did not affect all teachers in the same way; their personal histories and professional training shaped whether they adhered strictly to EOP or adopted more flexible approaches (RQ5). The findings underscore an ongoing tension between institutional policies and the everyday realities faced by multilingual learners. In conclusion, the study recommends additional professional training on balanced bilingualism, regular policy review that allows translanguaging, and further research that examines student well-being during EOP implementation.
Keywords: English Only Policy (EOP), narrative inquiry, language enforcement, ESL/EFL pedagogy, classroom management, translanguaging
https://doi.org/10.65494/pinagpalapublishing.272
